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ottexec.com/magazine Fall 2019
Stream Wars: The Battle Heats Up
Executive Q&A
Remi Beaudouin Steve Oetegenn
Beyond TV
ATEME Verimatrix
Erik Otto Anthony Smith-Chaigneau
Pro Streaming
Mediaproxy NAGRA Cognitive TV
Fall 2019
Inside this Issue Staff
Brian Mahony
CEO, Trender Research
Case Studies Founder & Editor-in-Chief,
OTT Executive Magazine
14 Creating Roku Channels: A Few Experience-Based Tips Nichole Janowsky
Publications Manager
by Alejandro Corpeño OTT Executive Magazine, Editor
34 Making TV Voice Discovery Child Friendly by Charlie Bonfield Kurt Michel
EVP, Trender Research
Executive Q&A Donna Bauchiero
10
Business Manager
ATEME’s Remi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer
20 Verimatrix’s Steve Oetegenn, President & Chief Operating Officer
30 Mediaproxy’s Erik Otto, CEO Volume
36 NAGRA’s Anthony Smith-Chaigneau, Senior Director Product Marketing Volume 9, Issue 3
Fall 2019
Trends & Analysis
12 Pay-TV Services Decline as OTT Services Continue their Rise Publisher
by Elizabeth Parks Trender Research Inc.
24 Data is Crucial in Today’s Evolving New-Media Environment 24 Village View Road
by Jim O’Neill Westford, MA 01886
info@TrenderResearch.com
Executive Insights
4 Stream Wars (The Battle of the BehemOTTs) by Kurt Michel Copyright
8 Will Media’s Quest for Scale Ultimately Lead to Extinction?
by Virginia Juliano 2019 by Trender Research, Inc.
The contents of this magazine may
16 Metadata is the Answer – and the Problem by Janet Greco not be reproduced in whole or in
22 Beyond TV: The Promise of Delay-Free Live Video by Charlie Kraus part without the expressed written
26 Get ready for the Cognitive TV Era by Gideon Gilboa consent of Trender Research, Inc.
32 How Software Encoder Computing Efficiency Impacts
Service Quality by Mark Donnigan Subscriptions
38 Leveraging Emerging Technology to Drive the Media Industry www.OTTexec.com/magazine
Forward by Hillary Henderson Printed/mailed subscription
(U.S.): $59.95
Best Practices
6 Balancing Price, Content and Experience Creates Winners
Advertising
and Losers of Streaming Video by Michael Jones bmahony@OTTexec.com
18 Making Existing Codecs Work Better by Guido Meardi
28 5 Tips from the Production Room: How to Live Stream Like a Pro
Printed in the USA
by Carlos Rojas
News & Events
5 OTT Fest Launch Is a Huge Success by Brian Mahony
Fall 2019 3
Executive Insights
Stream Wars (or The Battle of the BehemOTTs)
By: Kurt Michel
A s I write this, Apple has launched their
TV+ service in the industry’s latest volley
to topple Netflix for tomorrow’s viewer. Next
to be sustained over long periods (a la Game of
Thrones).
I am not a content critic, but based on my
Kurt Michel is Execu-
tive VP at Trender Re-
search. He has over
up is Disney+ on Nov. 12 in the US, to be early views and critic’s reviews of the Apple 30 years’ experience
in telecom, datacom,
followed by NBCUniversal’s Peacock next TV+ launch shows, they are somewhat hit and and networking - in
April, and HBO Max in May. miss. But, to use a baseball analogy, the hits development, sales,
To Netflix’ credit, they have spent a are no more than doubles, and I think they product management
and marketing roles.
lot of time on the streaming mountaintop really needed a home run or two. My wife and His marketing lead-
building their defenses. Their VOD streaming I enjoyed an episode of “The Morning Show,” ership experience at
technology and infrastructure is recognized as then tried “See.” We did not make it through Akamai, IneoQuest,
and SeaChange gives
among the industry’s best1, their subscriber- that first “See” episode. “For All Mankind” him a unique, multi-faceted perspective on the vola-
acquired data is the envy of everyone in the is fun and I think I’m hooked (2 episodes), tile video industry.
M&E industry, and they have been investing but I’ll enjoy that on my own, since the space
huge amounts of OPM2 ($16B in 2019) on genre is not my wife’s cup of tea. That means itself, but the ability to bundle with Hulu and
original content3. By virtue of their subscriber I’ll be watching late at night, after she goes to ESPN+. I believe this will hit Netflix in its
numbers, they are considered the anchor bed, so if it’s not engaging, I’ll be snoozing. Achilles heel. Netflix offers no live or linear
service of the OTT viewer. But with some of Summing it up, TV+ is clearly not intended programming – only on demand – and their
the biggest companies on the planet targeting to be the anchor service of the OTT viewer. I infrastructure is optimized for VOD. Don’t
them, is it enough? Let’s walk through some of guess it is aptly named, because it looks like get me wrong, I believe on-demand viewing,
the coming competitor’s relative strengths and an add-on (+) to whatever a viewer does use as measured by minutes viewed, will only
weaknesses. as their anchor service. Is it a threat to any continue to grow. But there will always be
But first, a moment of silence for arguably existing services? Maybe the other add-ons a need for live and linear, and a true OTT
the first significant casualty of Stream Wars: like HBO Now or Showtime Anytime, but not “anchor” service requires that. Since Disney’s
Playstation VUE, which announced in October Netflix, Hulu, or even Prime. Without a deeper infrastructure was built from MLBAM’s
that they would shut down operations in library, that is where they will remain. experience in live sports, they have learned
January 2020. More on that later. how to handle the complexities of live
Disney video’s demand spikes. I would argue that
Apple Next up is Disney+. With the Disney, Pixar, VOD can easily be handled by a robust live
Despite Apple’s clear desire to shift to Star Wars and Marvel libraries (…and National infrastructure, but the converse is not true. If
a services business4, they continue to focus Geographic) behind them, and new content live/linear really does become a requirement
these services to the Apple device user. Their leveraging those brands, a huge number of for an anchor OTT service, Netflix will need
free-year subscription offer to buyers of Apple people are expected to try it6 in the first year. to make significant changes in either their
hardware sends a clear message that TV+ is The recent free year offer for many Verizon platform, or through M&A.
being targeted at the Apple device owner. And customers7 only reinforces that. Of course, maybe I am wrong about the
TV+ lacks an Android or Windows app, even But what I find most compelling about importance of live/linear. Or maybe the Live/
though the persistent Android or Windows the Disney+ offer is not so much the service Linear services will be met over the emerging
viewer can use their browser to view on
https://tv.apple.com/. My son, a Google Pixel/
Windows/Macbook user was not aware of that.
So is TV+ meant to bolster Apple hardware
sales, or vice-versa? The messages are mixed,
and confusing.
Apple’s approach to episode availability –
drop the first 3 episodes, with a new episode
each week – makes sense, given their lack of
library depth. Had they dropped entire seasons
at once, subscribers could binge all their
interesting content during the trial period, never
to return. Ironically, data shared by Netflix5
may have helped them decide on the 3 episode
drop in order to “hook” the audience, and
keep them coming back weekly. At least with
this approach, if one of the shows catches a
subscriber’s interest, there is a chance they will
return. And the weekly drop allows show buzz
4 OTT Executive Magazine
ATSC3.0 broadcast infrastructure, with the
News and Events
internet/OTT primarily handling VOD traffic.
But I don’t think that will happen soon enough, OTT Fest Launch Is
and the battle is raging now.
My bet is on Disney (Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+)
for the anchor OTT service winner. But maybe
a Huge Success
Netflix is OK with that? By: Brian Mahony
Kurt’s Prediction
It will probably take a while – maybe a year –
to determine winners, given how the competitors N etflix will spend $15 billion on original content this year. Other OTT gi-
ants such as Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max are spending bil-
lions more. So it’s no surprise that new conferences and communities would
are stacking their subscriber decks with free
offers. Due to a recent iPhone upgrade, my entire emerge to tap into this huge investment of capital. Of course this event would
family can enjoy a free year of Apple TV+. I am pop up in New York or Los Angeles, right? Nope- Atlanta!
also a Verizon Wireless Unlimited customer, so OTT Fest (www.OTTfest.com) launched this year in the burgeoning con-
Disney+ will be free for my family for the first tent metropolis of Atlanta. Fittingly, the opening keynote was by Ozzie Areu,
year. I would suggest we all ignore the “number CEO of the newly launched Areu Brothers Studios. Ozzie has been methodi-
of subscribers” or “number of households cally building his new media empire, recently acquiring OTT Platform En-
subscribing,” and wait for the “number of paid davo Media (which itself acquired OTT content aggregator Footprint.TV last
subscriptions” stats. In any case, the headlines year) and, just announced at the show, THEA—a sort of local access platform
extracted from active user numbers will keep us for a slate of OTT channels. In his keynote chat Ozzie highlighted his studio’s
entertained through the next year. strategy which is to focus on long form and short form content—both TV and
In the meantime, it’s fun to handicap the film—that helps to tell the stories of underserved communities such as women
players. And I believe the most important weapon and people of color. This strategy fills a key gap in the industry and is a
in each player’s arsenal is their brand. I know perfect fit for the Atlanta content community which already includes heavy-
Netflix and Hulu have built great brands, because weights such as Tyler Perry Studios, CNN, and Turner Networks.
my family sits down to “watch Netflix” or “watch Co-founders of OTT Fest are Paul Hamm, Endavo Media CEO, and Kate
Hulu.” But what exactly do the Netflix and Apple Atwood, President of THEA; both who now work for Ozzie. Trender Re-
TV+ brands mean, and what are they becoming? search/OTT Executive is also a partner in this new endeavor and provided
In comparison, my household has Amazon Prime, about a third of the speakers, including the powerhouse opening panel which
and when looking for a show, we will “check if consisted of moderator James Norman, CEO of Pilotly; Randy Ahn, Direc-
it’s on Amazon.” We do not “watch Prime.” Pay tor of the Roku Channel; Jada Leng, Director of Content Strategy for PBS;
attention to the way people refer to these brands. Maxie Collier, Founder of Super Livestreams; and Stefan Van Engen, SVP of
Ask yourself how many people will ever say Content Programming at Xumo.
“I’m going to watch TV+ tonight?” Our language The second day’s keynote included an excellent panel made up of leading
reveals the difference. women in entertainment. Doris Casap, SVP of Film Programming for HBO
Which brings me back to Playstation VUE. flew down from New York to anchor this interesting and informative conver-
On their soon-to-be-retired home page, it says: sation. The other panel members were Tyler Perry Studios’ Michelle Sneed,
“Watch the best of live streaming TV and On Scripps TV’s Cheryle Harrison, Areu Brothers Studios’ Kim Leadford, and
Demand shows on your favorite devices – entertainment industry consultant Angela Northington. The panel was moder-
no PlayStation® console required.” ated by Mo Ivory, Professor at Georgia State University.
So I don’t need a Playstation to watch OTT Fest was co-located with A3C, which draws almost 40,000 attendees
Playstation VUE, and they know they need to tell for its conference/festival across the music, tech, video, and culture landscape.
me that? So why did they name it that??? A3C, short for “all three coasts”, started as a hip-hop music festival and like
Branding matters. Austin’s South by Southwest grew to include cultural and tech components.
I think Disney+ has already won the brand OTT Fest’s focus on
identity battle, because in the consumer’s mind, media and entertainment
Disney IS entertainment, and their underlying is the third leg of the stool,
brands only reinforce that. Pixar has never tapping into both the local
created a bad movie. People notice anything community and national
related to Star Wars. And Marvel’s brand? As (and global) network of
Stan Lee would say – ‘nuff said8. � up-and-coming content
creators and distributors.
References: In addition to the
1. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/ amazing speaker lineup,
netflix-look-behind-curtain-1203169528/ sponsors and participating
2. Other People’s Money brands included a mix of
3. https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/
netflix-debt-junk-bond-2-billion-content-spending-1203377007/
corporate and entertain-
4. https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/10/02/how-apples- ment industry brands such
shift-away-from-devices-could-disappoin.aspx as Delta Airlines, Georgia Power, Netflix, Whistle Sports, Mailchimp, and
5. https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/23/9381509/ Tenderfoot.TV.
netflix-hooked-tv-episode-analysis Next year look for an expanded speaker lineup as well as a pitch contest
6. https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/08/29/disney-plus-
launch-may-be-huge-survey-fan-website.aspx
for new TV pilots and films that will compete to win exclusive production
7. https://www.verizon.com/about/news/ and distribution deals. Anyone interested in speaking or sponsoring next year
verizon-disney-plus-12-months should contact me at bmahony@OTTexec.com. �
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGarqd3xC9A
Fall 2019 5
Best Practices
Balancing Price, Content and Experience Creates
Winners and Losers of Streaming Video
By: Michael Jones
T hree basic levers determine the success of
any streaming service from a consumer
perspective – the cost of the subscription, the
viewing time. AT&T has been aggressive in
licensing content for HBO Max as it has little
control over the price lever given existing price
Michael Jones is SVP
and Head of Busi-
ness Development
at VisualOn. In this
content included in that subscription, and the structures for pay TV and HBO Now. role, Michael leads
quality of the viewing experience. Service strategy, partner-
providers are constantly trying to balance these Viewing Experience ships and products.
Previously, Michael
levers to create satisfied and loyal subscribers QoE can help streaming services
was SVP Business
for long-term success. Improving content or differentiate in an increasingly competitive Development at IBS,
the quality of experience (QoE) can grow market. Frictionless set-up among devices, Inc., Managing Director and Global Head of TMT
subscribers or compensate for potential churn easy-to-navigate electronic programming Investment Banking and Principal Investment at
Samsung Securities and Head of Asia Technology
from a price increase. Likewise, lowering guides and an optimized viewing experience Investment Banking at BofA Merrill Lynch.
prices can increase subscribers, as Hulu did in for any given device are examples of how
February 2019. experience can gain new subscribers – and
potentially command higher pricing. on new subscriptions to grow revenues. In a
Price Let’s look at Netflix to examine these key 2016 survey by Cowen and Company, cost
In 2007, Netflix signed an agreement for levers further. effectiveness was cited by 58% of respondents
the online streaming rights of Starz, providing By the time Starz terminated its streaming as a reason to subscribe.
access to more than 2,500 titles, including rights deal, Netflix had the financial strength Netflix also offers a very strong QoE. In
recent premium movies from Disney and Sony. to license rights directly from content owners, 2018, the company spent $1.2B on R&D and
Streaming these titles was available, for free, to including top films from studios as well as has spent the past decade optimizing VOD
Netflix DVD subscribers with plans of $8.99/ popular television series. Netflix found that delivery. The company has pioneered new
month and higher. This essentially established many viewers “binged” by watching many technologies for streaming, such as the Open
the standard pricing structure of streaming episodes of popular TV series in a row, and this Connect distributed CDN, which optimizes
services as we continue to know it today, and meant that these were the most watched content cost and performance by hosting content
it did so without taking into consideration the on Netflix. According to Nielsen, the top three directly in ISP’s data centers. Likewise, their
cost of content development and licensing. If programs for Netflix in 2018 were The Office, Dynamic Optimizer offers extremely efficient
a provider increases prices well beyond what Friends and Grey’s Anatomy – all having more compression, minimizing bandwidth costs and
exists today, it will impact subscriber count than 200 episodes. increasing resilience to network performance
(e.g. historically, Netflix subscription counts When Netflix started streaming video, it issues. Netflix also works with hardware
have been price sensitive). Otherwise, it will was included for free with its DVD mailing vendors to qualify products as “Netflix
need to consider ad-based VOD (AVOD) service. By 2011, the price had increased just supported”. Finally, Netflix has extensive
options to subsidize its costs. $1, to $9.99 per month. In July 2011, Netflix analytics data for QoE and user behavior.
separated its DVD and streaming services into
Content discrete subscriptions, each priced at $7.99/
The content lever is a difficult one as month.
content owners are now starting to realize the At the end of 2011, according to Netflix
true value of streaming rights (e.g. the cost data from its annual report, the service had According to Sandvine, Netflix accounts for
of streaming rights for Seinfeld increased 5X 21.6M global subscribers. By the end of 2018, 3% of all upstream internet traffic, representing
over a 5-year period). According to Netflix, the the number had risen to 139.3M. ARPU had the vast analytics data they collect. This allows
company spent 85% of its streaming content actually dropped from $11.84 (representing them to optimize service quality, provide a
budget in 2018 on originals, yet Nielsen data customers subscribing to both DVD and strong recommendation engine and gain deep
shows this content only accounted for 37% of streaming services) to $10.31 per streaming insights for the creation of original content.
customer. Netflix had kept prices low, relying Netflix built strong subscriber growth by using
two of the three levers for a streaming service
– increasing content and QoE while keeping
pricing relatively flat. Going forward, Netflix
is losing some key content for the U.S. market
(The Office, Friends and Grey’s Anatomy are
all moving to competitors) and has no stated
plan to lower prices. Its growth will depend on
leveraging analytics data to provide tailored
content and user experiences, as well as
utilizing new international content to expand in
international markets.
Today, Netflix has a market cap of $120B.
At the end of 2018, Netflix had 2.7M DVD
subscribers, down from 3.3M in 2017 and
4.0M in 2016. If not for streaming, Netflix
would be dying or dead.
Disney and AT&T Say “Not So Fast!”
Building off of the Starz deal in 2008,
Netflix has created a huge amount of
shareholder value, as well as a strong User
Data Base (UDB) of hundreds of millions
of users. Netflix has also built a very strong
recommendation engine, a treasure trove of
user behavior and QoE data, and a strong glass-
to-glass streaming video delivery chain. Netflix
does not share the data of, or access to, their
subscribers.
Disney, AT&T and others have taken
notice. They doubtless realize that Netflix
is approaching an inflection point in content
ownership, whereby their original content will
overtake licensed content as the primary driver
of viewership. Netflix is also aggressively
building out its global content and subscriber
base.
Disney spent $2.5B to gain a controlling 2016, Netflix had a global streaming ARPU of monthly subscriptions, do without, or find
interest in BAMTech, which has become $8.61, offering Disney and other studio content ways to access content for free (e.g. piracy or
Disney’s streaming technology provider and as well as their own originals – which likely account sharing). These issues place content
operator. Disney is also forgoing billions of represented a better value than Disney+ or the and streaming services in a difficult position:
dollars of content licensing fees – The Wall Netflix of today. content development and licensing is expensive
Street Journal estimates that Disney was Meanwhile, AT&T’s WarnerMedia is and prices need to support these costs. Also,
receiving $500M annually just from Netflix for building out HBO Max. While pricing has not as Netflix has shown, building a strong
streaming licensing. yet been announced, it is widely believed that connection with the subscriber, and collecting
pricing will be the same as HBO Now ($14.99 the associated analytics has tremendous value.
per month) or, at most, a few dollars more. The value of this data is driving the D2C trend
AT&T does not want to undercut existing – services will be loath to allow aggregators to
HBO Now and HBO pay TV subscribers, so is control customer data and access.
being aggressive in building out high-demand The easiest and cheapest lever is QoE.
content to make the service compelling (i.e. In 2018, Netflix’s R&D spending was 10%
using the content lever to build subscriptions). of its content expenditures. Furthermore,
In addition to HBO content such as Game of Netflix’s technology not only helps deliver
Thrones, The Sopranos and The Wire, AT&T better experiences, but also saves bandwidth,
has spent an estimated $2B+ to secure the saving money and allowing the service to
rights to Big Bang Theory, Friends, and Two reach customers who otherwise might not have
and a Half Men. connections suitable for watching video. This,
Disney is also spending billions to build ultimately, can open up new markets, new
and market Disney+. Meanwhile, the starting How to Stand Out in a Glut of Streaming customers and new business models. �
price is $6.99 per month – and discounts are Services?
available to Disney’s D23 fan club members As the D2C market expands to include
for under $4 per month. Under CEO Bob Iger’s Apple+, NBCUniversal Peacock, Discovery/
direction, Disney will lose billions building up BBC, etc., subscription fatigue is a real threat.
Disney+ in order to gain a strategic position in Consumers simply will not want to navigate
the future of video. different apps, keep track of what is playing
While Disney has top-tier content, including where and not benefit from comprehensive
Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar, the Disney+ interactive features such as recommendations.
library is much smaller than that of Netflix, Ultimately, disparate D2C service offerings will
with approximately 500 movies and 7,500 TV be a less compelling solution for consumers
episodes at launch; roughly half the size of from a price and convenience standpoint.
the Netflix library, according to data from the Technology can make up for this somewhat
unofficial Netflix online global search website. by leveraging the advantages that streaming Join OTT Exec
To provide a larger library, Disney is bundling has over linear TV. It can offer customized
Disney+ with ESPN+ and Hulu for $12.99 experiences, allowing viewers to choose their Group on LinkedIn:
per month, a discount of about $5 based on desired camera angles and replays, watch
individual prices. multiple streams on the same screen and tailor https://www.linkedin.
Despite the consumer-friendly $6.99 price their viewing experience for their viewing
of Disney+, it is unlikely that Disney will keep environment and device. com/groups/1994425/
that price in the long term. Furthermore, in Consumers will have the option to rotate
Fall 2019 7
Executive Insights
Will Media’s Quest for Scale Ultimately
Lead to Extinction?
By: Virginia Juliano
T he flurry of media mergers and
consolidations over the last 2 years has
reinforced the concept that scale is necessary
rapidly spread across the planet. The cloud
blanketed the atmosphere and blocked out
all sunshine, which turned the earth cold,
Virginia Juliano is
the Founder & CEO
of CobbleCord (www.
to effectively compete in this new, disrupted halted photosynthesis and destroyed the food CobbleCord.com),
a disruptive startup
entertainment landscape. But while watching supply, leading to a complete collapse of the that helps people
The Day the Dinosaurs Died (ironically, on food chain and mass starvation. The largest cobble together
Netflix) I had a bit of a revelation that media’s beasts who required the greatest amounts of personalized bundles
rush to get bigger in order to survive may be sustenance in order to survive were the hardest of both free and paid
streaming services.
misguided and even downright dangerous to hit, and quickly died out. Its patented process uses customer content,
the future of these behemoths. device, internet and price preferences to craft a
The Day the Dinosaurs Died describes the Shifting Winds custom list of services for each user, empowering
them to get the most from streaming and get rid
fascinating chain of events that occurred after a In our modern media saga, the winds have of cable.
mega-asteroid hit the earth off the coast of what again been shifting and the apex predators
is now the Yucatan peninsula some 66 million of today may also be the most vulnerable.
years ago. According to scientists, dinosaurs Activist investors calling for divestiture and gloom. Let’s remember that in prehistoric
were the largest “apex predators” of the time. new management (in the case of AT&T); times, the dinosaurs’ extinction heralded some
But because of this they were actually the increased governmental anti-trust and privacy positive developments as well. With those large
hardest hit by the resulting impact. More on scrutiny (Facebook, Google); overpayment reptilian predators out of the way, mammals
that later. for lackluster assets (AT&T, Disney); messy (who were much smaller and required much
cultural fit (AT&T/Time Warner, Viacom/ less food) began to flourish. This, of course, led
Today’s Apex Predators CBS); and investor hyper-sensitivity to small to our caveman ancestors and the proliferation
The equivalent apex predators in today’s shifts in subscriber numbers and constant of the human race.
world of media are the horizontally and/or skittishness regarding debt load (Netflix) are Similarly, the leaner, more agile players
vertically integrated corporations that have just some of the hazards that have recently could be better positioned to make the ongoing
been bulking up in order to compete in the surfaced in the race to scale. quick moves needed in today’s increasingly
streaming wars, as well as the large tech Not to mention that the top-heaviness and complex media terrain – provided they’ve been
companies that have muscled their way into bloated infrastructure usually needed to support built around smart business models and sound
the space. The sharp-elbowed game of content such large companies generally creates entities financials.
creation, licensing and distribution (and of that are slow to respond or pivot, which is So perhaps ViacomCBS is exactly the size
course, advertising) between the many players an increasingly important ability in today’s that it should be right now. Maybe it should
is getting even sharper. In this world, bigger ever-evolving media reality. It also makes stand firm and stoutly ignore the constant
means having more power and leverage to them reluctant to take chances on lower- drumbeat demanding that it get bigger. It’s a
negotiate across multiple fronts and the ability margin areas that don’t serve their big balance choice that just might help it avoid becoming
to better defray costs across a large footprint. sheet requirements, even if they do serve an too big to sustain itself during the next
AT&T swallowing DirecTV and later Time emerging customer need – a classic Innovator’s inevitable famine. �
Warner; Disney gobbling up Fox’s assets; Dilemma situation.
Discovery buying Scripps; Facebook, Google Plus, these companies have existed in a
and Amazon being so inherently huge for so bull market for the past decade. The specter
long; and even Netflix endlessly growing its of a recession dust cloud could certainly
debt to capture ever more subscribers and block out the media giants’ sunshine and
high-profile content are just a few examples of make them more vulnerable
the “bigger is better” approach that’s been the than their smaller, more
accepted path to greatness. And let’s not forget nimble counterparts. When
Viacom reuniting with its CBS brethren, yet cost-conscious consumers
continuing to get penalized by the markets for start flexing more control
still being too small. over their entertainment mix,
However, size and scale can become a bundle backlash and non-stop
negative, as was ultimately the case in the subscriber churn could easily
dinosaur era. It turns out that the majority dry up the high volume of
of dinosaurs did not die directly from the capital lifeblood needed to
asteroid’s impact. Instead, the force of the sustain their bulk and fuel their
crash (it was traveling at an estimated forty- required growth.
five thousand miles per hour) spewed millions
of tons of displaced rock, dust and debris miles Only the Agile Survive
into the air, producing a thick dust cloud that But it’s not all doom and
8 OTT Executive Magazine
Executive Q&A
OTT Technology Trends with ATEME
Interview by Kurt Michel with Remi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer, ATEME
T render Research’s Kurt Michel recently
caught up with Remi Beaudouin, Chief
Strategy Officer at ATEME to talk about
As a result, our customers can enjoy scale
economies by streaming/transmitting more
channels over the same given pipe.
Remi Beaudouin
is Chief Strategy
Officer at ATEME. In
Quality of Experience, core technologies Others standardize on our solution because his role, Remi leads
leading the OTT market as well as cloud of the convergence aspect, leading to lower the corporate team’s
global strategic and
architecture. OPEX: we have a unique virtualized software
marketing initiatives,
suite to do any input/codec/resolution/packag- helping to ensure
Kurt: Hello Remi. Thank you for taking the ing. ATEME keeps pace
Last, but not least, most of our customers – with solutions and
time today to share some of your insights with
engagement model innovations. He is responsi-
our readership. Could you please share a bit of or shall we say partners - leverage our innova- ble for developing key strategic partnerships.
ATEME’s background and its role in the video tion. Engineers comprise three-quarters of our Remi joined ATEME in 2005, most recently serv-
industry with us? staff. We are involved in all relevant standards ing as VP of Marketing, following successive Field
Application Engineer and Product Marketing
activities as well as many research projects. Manager positions. Prior to joining ATEME, Remi
Remi: Hi Kurt, first thank you for giving me As a result, we can provide our customers with worked at Envivio and Thales Airborne Systems,
the opportunity to let OTT Exec readers learn a state-of-the-art video technologies like HEVC/ having gained a master’s degree in signal pro-
AV1, 4K and all flavors of HDR. This, in turn, cessing from ENSEIRB, Bordeaux.
bit more about ATEME.
ATEME is a global leader of video com- provides tremendous differentiation for our
pression and delivery solutions. Leveraging customers and reduces their customer’s churn. there is a royal wedding in the UK, program-
a task force of close to 300 people over 20 mers create a channel about Kings & Queens.
countries, we serve the leading Content Own- Kurt: What is one of the fundamental changes This channel might last for one month around
ers, Broadcasters, Stations, MVPDs (be they that you see that OTT technology has enabled the event and then disappear. This approach
traditional or virtual) and OTT pure players. in the media and entertainment industry over allows vMPVDs to stay closer to the news and
The video industry is a mature market, with its the last year or two? social media trends and so engage more with
first satellite launch over 30 years ago. Mature their customers.
does not mean stalled. Actually, quite the op- Remi: One obvious change we have wit-
posite. We are facing and experiencing a mov- nessed in the OTT market is the request for Kurt: What are some of core technologies that
ing landscape, a management of change with improved Quality of Experience. I am not are leading OTT market evolution today, and
regards to video services and operations. And only talking about picture quality, but also what role is ATEME playing in enabling the
this is where ATEME comes into play. Based latency (obviously), immersive audio, and new use of those technologies?
on our tens of thousands of man-years in video ways of watching-like Augmented Reality.
coding expertise – the company was founded in These changes are definitely coupled with the Remi: There is the classic evolution of the
1991– we help to our customers transform their mainstream viewership position taken by OTT video payload standards: new codecs (like
video delivery as part of their change manage- 4 years ago, when nobody was complaining AV1), new resolution (4K), and new packaging
ment process. This can be achieved through about long delay on OTT or a me-too approach formats (CMAF), especially when they enable
various angles: vs Broadcast. But at that time, the audience better services (low latency). This change is
Some customers’ 3rd party Content Deliver ratings were not very high. happening across the TV Industry.
Networks deploy our solution to lower the total Now that OTT is becoming of one the main More noticeable is the adoption of multi-
cost of ownership of video transmission. Based ways (if not the main way for the Z genera- cloud approach. In order to gain flexibility,
on video expertise, we can achieve high video tions) to watch content, the expectation bar has scalability and cost effectiveness, all ATEME
quality at lower bitrates than other solutions. been raised. service provider customers have deployed a
If we look forward, another multi-cloud strategy. Some of them are mixing
As a re- emerging fundamental change their on-premise private cloud with off premise
is the need for personalized clouds, while others mix and use several public
TV, also known as “a la carte”. clouds. Our value proposition is at the software
This is almost already the case layer, not in the infrastructure. Our role is to
for the SVOD services based make sure we provide them with an efficient
on recommendations and solution that is infrastructure- agnostic so they
preferences. We see this trend can leverage the flexibility provided by the
coming for linear services with multiplicity of the choices.
the emergence of pop-up chan-
nels. These channels are not Kurt: Can you comment on the state of AV1
permanent channels, but rather codec adoption in the industry? Is it gain-
time-limited. Their editorial ing greater usage? And if so, are there any
line is based on outside popular particular areas of the market that are leading
events/trends. For example, if the way?
10 OTT Executive MagazineRemi: AV1 is definitely gaining traction year cloud as well) provides stunning advantages on and more OTT services - this is a no-brainer.
after year, trade show after trade show. As flexibility, scalability and price. We mentioned We are brainstorming how we can bring
usual, the ramp up takes some time; the eco- time-limited pop-up channels earlier. Only more video processing intelligence inside the
system, especially the decoding devices, need cloud-based headends with all underlying tech- network so we can optimize the routing and
to come to the market. We are getting there. nologies (virtualization, full IP) can enable set delivery of OTT services. On top of that, there
At IBC, we demonstrated an end-to-end AV1 up quickly enough so the channel can be mon- is a clear opportunity to better monetize the
processing chain based on our TITAN solution etized over a viable duration. The same goes content through an improved delivery system
for encoding and decoding, using Broadcom’s with VOD workflows: the number of shows that is also customizable. We also discussed
BCM72180 AV1 set-top box, in preparation for vary based on time-of-year. There is a pro- personalized TV. What if we could create
a new era for OTT services. nounced peak during episodic TV season finals. Kurt’s channel bouquet, just for you? You
Pure OTT players, sometimes called New Having the ability to produce the regular flow could enjoy your favorite niche content and
Media - like Netflix or YouTube - have stated on site and then off-load it to the cloud during OTT players could generate additional revenue
their intentions to support AV1. This obviously peaks is key. Last, but not least, providers can with targeted advertisements.
is a source of adoption. Traditional service lower their operational expenditures with CPU
providers now follow the same path. spot instances - not on a single cloud, but on Kurt: Thanks Remi. I’m especially enthusias-
a multiple cloud approach: prices are always tic about “Kurt’s Channel”. We are seeing a bit
Kurt: You have mentioned hybrid-cloud and better with competition! of progress there now, so maybe we are exiting
multi-cloud architectures as some of the more the hype cycle and shifting to practical person-
exciting technical developments available to Kurt: Over the next 3-5 years, what challenges alization. With the onslaught of content now
today’s service providers. Can you explain face the OTT industry that ATEME is focused hitting us, it is becoming increasingly required
some of the benefits of these architectures, on addressing? to combat search fatigue.
and some of the unique challenges that these Thanks for your time, and I look forward to
architectures present? Remi: When we look forward, we clearly see your future innovations! �
network optimization and analytics as the next
Remi: Multi-cloud (and I would add hybrid big things. Booming demand will lead to more
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Fall 2019 11Trends & Analysis
Pay-TV Services Decline as
OTT Services Continue their Rise
By: Elizabeth Parks
T elevision industry participants are
grappling with the new realities of the US
pay-TV industry. Traditional pay-TV providers
of subscriber losses. Consolidation has created
large, innovative, integrated companies that
impact creation, licensing, and distribution of
Elizabeth Parks,
President of Parks
Associates, leads all
(MVPDs) have faced continued subscriber live channels and content assets. vMVPDs, teams within Parks
Associates. She
losses due to increasing consumer choice or pay-TV service providers that offer online oversees all research
from OTT services. Research from Parks versions of traditional cable TV, continue to and directs the
Associates finds that the average standalone gain subscribers at a rapid pace. integrated strategic
communications
pay-TV service ARPU (average revenue per Subscriptions to vMVPD services have
plan for Parks Associ-
user) declined 10% from 2016 to 2018, and doubled over the last 18 months, making it ates; including advertising, public relations, and
consumer-reported monthly spending on pay one of the fastest growing sectors in the TV marketing campaigns. Elizabeth is the key organ-
TV declined from $84 to $76. marketplace. Monthly fees are lower for online izer for all of Parks Associates’ events, includ-
ing CONNECTIONS™; and she supports Parks
Self-reported expenditures on non-pay-TV pay-TV subscriptions than for traditional pay Associates’ Business Development Team with
home video entertainment also declined 30% TV, but providers find lower ARPU preferable prospective client searches, overall support, and
per month over the past seven years, peaking at to cord-cutting subscriber losses. New online maintenance of Parks Associates’ databases.
Elizabeth joined Parks Associates on a full-time
nearly $40 in 2014 to slightly over $20 at the competitors, or virtual MVPDs, have also basis in 1998 after graduating from the University
end of 2018, according to the study. created a new segment of competition within of Texas at Austin with a BA in psychology.
Spending on internet video is the only pay TV with packages of content and features
category to hold steady throughout the that differ, in some cases significantly, from
time frame, staying at $8-9 per month since traditional service offerings. through trials to avoid paying. While some
2014, showing the power of streaming These trends have a significant impact on trial abuse likely occurs, the high rate of
and downloaded content from the internet. broadcasters and cable networks. While the conversion suggests that most users are
Subscription online video is the only US market includes more licensing customers actively evaluating for genuine adoption. 58%
growth category for consumer-paid video (pay-TV providers), the pricing pressure for of US broadband households who trial an OTT
entertainment beyond pay TV. consumer services is forcing increased conflict video subscription service convert to paying
Operators, struggling with declining ARPU in carriage negotiations. Such conflicts fuel the subscribers.
for standalone pay-TV services, are anxious to interest in continued vertical and horizontal Free trials are an established and effective
leverage this trend. They are taking differing consolidation in order to achieve greater scale, part of the OTT landscape, but as they become
approaches. Some, including Comcast and leverage, and control. a commoditized offering in an increasingly
DISH, are offering subscriptions to third-party New research from Parks Associates finds crowded market, services will experiment
OTT video services and are integrating them that the conversion rate from a free trial to a with the model to make their service stand
into their discovery interfaces. Partnering paying subscriber is higher among consumers out. For example, Sling TV recently began
gives operators a chance to serve as content who trial multiple services. Among users allowing non-subscribers unauthenticated
aggregator, a familiar position. Others, trialing three or more services, almost 80% access to limited content, essentially a pre-trial
including AT&T and DISH, are expanding their subscribe to at least one of the services that opportunity that encourages viewers to begin
competitive reach online and have introduced they tested. an actual trial.
vMVPD (virtual, i.e. OTT) services. Some OTT providers have expressed Subscriptions, formerly representing just
There is an urgency to change the pattern concerns that consumers might be churning over half of total online video spending in
Likelihood to Subscribe to an Online Pay-TV Service (2018)
Among US Broadband Households Not Subscribing to Overall vMVPD Service Adoption (2017-2018)
Online Pay TV in Specified Groups
Among US Broadband Households
50%
20%
30% Very likely
% Rating Level of Likelihood
(Rating 6-7)
at Least One Service
(Rating on a 7-pt. Scale)
% Subscribing to
10%
Likely
10% (Rating 5)
Not Likely 10%
30% (Rating 1-3)
50%
70% 0%
Q1/2017 Q3/2017 Q1/2018 Q3/2018
90% Q1/2018 Q3/2018
© Parks Associates
© Parks Associates
12 OTT Executive MagazinePay-TV Service Subscriptions (2011-2019)
Uptake of OTT Services by Pay-TV Subscription Groups
Among US Broadband Households
Among US Pay-TV Service Subscribers
100%
100%
90%
% Subscribing to OTT Services
90%
80%
80%
% Subscribing to Pay-TV
70%
70%
60%
60%
50%
50%
40%
40%
30%
30%
20% 20%
10% 10%
0% 0%
Q3/2011 Q3/2012 Q1/2014 Q4/2015 Q3/2016 Q1/2017 Q2/2018 Q1/2019 Pay-TV Pay-TV Pay-TV Pay-TV New Pay-TV Returning All Pay-TV
Downgraders Switchers Upgraders Subscribers Subscribers Subscribers
© Parks Associates
© Parks Associates
2012, now account for nearly 86% of all is a niche play, targeting a specific group of These factors will lead to a spike in the
internet spending on TV and movies. The consumers with a low price and family-friendly amount of money consumers spend per month,
new services launching over the next several content. at least in the short term, as new services
months are taking different approaches as they These and other new services due for such as Disney+ and Apple TV+ become
enter a crowded OTT market. While the US release, including Apple TV+, will drive available. Tradeoff decisions will come later.
market is important for Disney, the company consumers to increase spending on internet To keep consumers spending at this higher
will ultimately measure the success of its video and maximize the proportion of spending level, services will have to consistently deliver
Disney+ service on a global scale. AT&T likely on subscriptions. The increasing number of volumes of compelling content within an
sees its AT&T TV offering as the evolution new services will also test consumers’ tolerance engaging user experience. �
of its core pay-TV business rather than as an for adding new accounts to their monthly
extension of its vMVPD efforts. Frndly TV expenditures.
Contact: info@ottexec.com for speaker and/or sponsor opportunities
at the OTT Executive Summit 2020 ~ May/June 2020, NYC.
Fall 2019 13Case Study
Creating Roku Channels:
A Few Experience-Based Tips
By: Alejandro Corpeño
V ideo streaming platforms are now part
of the daily video consumption patterns
of millions of people in the US and globally.
software development, but also on-device
testing, careful memory management, as well
as adaptable UX/UI patterns that adjust to the
Alejandro Corpeño,
Chief Executive
Officer of Iconic is
Content providers and networks are aware of particular limitations (or extra features) of the a Fulbright Fellow.
He has an MBA in
this and are racing to bring their offerings to hardware your channel will run on. Entrepreneurship
OTT. Roku’s Developer portal (https://developer. & Innovation from
Amongst the OTT platforms available roku.com) clearly states the certification Vanderbilt Univer-
today, Roku is one of the top players. They are criteria and must-haves that channels should sity. His 20+ years of
experience on Web
quickly gaining market share and making their comply with to be certified and published for + Mobile apps, Scalable Backend Platforms, TV-
way into households through a wide range of general availability on the platform. Aside from apps (OTT), AR/VR, design and development give
products, from low price sticks to high-end set- these specifications, below are some tips that him exceptional industry knowledge.
top boxes. will eventually save you a significant amount
With a couple of years’ experience of time, money, and frustration:
developing Roku apps at Iconic, we have some to take place before your launch date.
recommendations to share with those planning 1. Define your monetization model
to adopt this platform. When setting up your channel, an essential • SVOD: Subscription Video on Demand
The first decision is to choose between requirement is to specify and choose a For this model, you will need Roku Pay.
using Roku’s Channel Template or creating a monetization model. Don’t leave this decision According to its website, “Roku Pay is the fast,
Custom Channel. For brands that want more until the end since it will have implications and simple way to pay on your Roku streaming
control of the user experience, design, and in the development tasks and features that device.” Your subscriber/viewer adds the
other elements of their channel, the Custom your application should have. The two most payment information to their Roku account;
Channel is the way to go. common monetization options are: then they can easily purchase subscriptions,
Roku is a mature OTT Application rent or buy movies or TV shows, and purchase
Platform. Roku Channels are Apps, developed • AVOD: Advertising - or Ad-based - Video Roku device upgrades, offers, and accessories.
on Roku’s XML framework called Scenegraph. On Demand With Roku Pay, you will not have to worry
Roku also offers their native library called Roku Advertising Framework (RAF) about developing the payment processing flow
Component Controller, which introduces clear implementation is required if you are planning or the security considerations around credit
standards to maintain the performance of the to follow this model. By using RAF, you will card transactions, Roku Pay takes care of all of
channels in their platform, regardless of the be able to measure the traffic and behavior that for you.
target hardware. of users while ads are playing. Take into
All Roku channels should run smoothly on consideration that even though the RAF 2. Pay attention to data integrations for
both low and high-end devices, making the certification is relatively simple, it is separate better visibility and positioning in the Roku
development cycle a challenging and iterative from the standard certification process, so make platform.
process. This process not only includes sure you plan enough time for both processes Aside from users installing your channel,
Roku offers other discoverability tools such as
Search and the Roku Channel. For your content
to be visible on these other discoverability
tools, you need to pay close attention and
implement deep links. This will allow your
channel to be discovered by users searching on
the Roku Channel.
Another integration option that gives your
channel better placement on the Roku platform
is the Roku Event Dispatcher (RED). This
integration option will allow you to fire events
when the app launches and track metrics, such
as the number of installs, specific errors per
device, and how many times an error occurs. It
also allows you to prioritize your app’s content
positioning on the search results by letting
Roku know whether a user is authenticated into
your channel. If a user is already authenticated
into your channel and your channel is listed
as an option for viewing on the search results,
your channel will be listed above those where
14 OTT Executive Magazinethe user is not yet authenticated. Based on this experience, I recommend Summit events. My company, Iconic, had the
you develop and test directly on both the low opportunity to attend one of these events. One
3. Develop and test using the lowest range and the high end of the device spectrum from of our Roku Development Team members was
devices day one. You can code specific rules that apply amazed by the number and quality of insights
Roku has some of the most popular OTT to low-end devices, making alternative user the Roku engineers shared during their talks
devices, mainly because of its low-priced interaction and design patterns for devices and workshops. They talked about integration
options and built-in Roku TVs (OEMs). This with less processing power. For example, you with Google devices as well as other relevant
is great for market penetration, and also you can code to avoid animations or transitions on and deeply technical, detailed topics.
as a content provider, for it offers a window devices where they can’t run smoothly. We highly recommend you enlist and
to millions of viewers. However; the tradeoff participate in the community. You will be able
is that you need to pay close attention to how Be part of the community to meet and interact with those you’ve spoken
your application performs on those low-end The Roku team is extremely accessible, with through slack or email in their official
devices, which usually have very limited and you should take advantage of this. capacity; but through the community, the
memory and processing power. We learned this You will probably have an assigned Roku interaction will be more personal and casual.
the hard way. On our very first app, we started Partner Success contact to handle all of the In summary, we have found that Roku’s
developing and testing on high-end devices communication between your team and team is truly focused on bringing a top-quality
only; but when our QA team started performing Roku’s engineering, certification, and business experience to the users, and understand the
thorough testing on the full range of devices teams. Additionally, you can find different importance of the developer community in
they discovered it didn’t work correctly on the communication channels with the community realizing that mission. They genuinely care
low-end of the spectrum, creating a backlog of on the Roku Developer portal https://developer. about their developer community and their
bug fixes and performance improvement tasks roku.com channel partner business relationships. Good
that needed to be added to our development If you get involved in the community, Luck! �
queue. As a result, we had to deal with and your channel starts to perform well, you
unexpected development roadmap adjustments. might be invited to one of Roku’s Developer
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Fall 2019 15Executive Insights
Metadata is the Answer – and the Problem
By: Janet Greco
N ew dynamic user interfaces and
recommendations can be the difference
between winning and losing in the OTT space,
be able to use data in a meaningful way. But
the biggest issue for our customers is that
their organization is very siloed. How do you
Janet Greco is an
independent consul-
tant with expertise
but managing the backbone of consumer- break those silos? And how do you make data in enterprise TV
metadata manage-
focused search and recommendation is a available for everyone that needs it?” ment helping TV
big challenge for incumbent broadcasters While it is true that “data-driven” is the businesses take a
and content providers. The opportunity for mantra of the day, the beating heart of the TV more holistic view of
their data operations
operators will be huge once they get their business revolves around proper metadata
and helping them
metadata management practices right. management in a way that “fixes” the multiple solve problems around disparate workflows
data silos within legacy operators. and data sets. She founded the first disruptive
Data Driven TV. Sounds great, doesn´t it? pan-European TV metadata aggregation service,
Infomedia S.A. in 1991. Her company: www.
While OTT streaming services enjoy Legacy innovations still in play broadcastprojects.com
interrogating their data lakes with fancy If the transition from paper to electronic
dashboards, accurate audience metrics and marked the initial disruptive force in TV
extensive analytic capabilities, traditional metadata delivery practices, the new “AI”- TV metadata aggregators, provided a modern
broadcasters and pay TV platforms are having driven techniques for automating metadata conduit for channels to deliver their schedules
a tougher time of it. They face competition extraction are set to be the second wave. to the wide number of publications, later
from the likes of Netflix, Facebook, Fortnite Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the term websites and EPGs, in an efficient manner.
and everything else that vies for the attention of we often use when we really mean Machine What broadcasters needed at that time was
consumers these days. Learning (ML) and a host of other technologies someone who could sort out their TV schedule
“The role of data for operators is really very that are still at the early stages of development (TV metadata) distribution problems so that
important,” says Jacques-Edouard Guillemot, and deployment. These new technologies are consumers could discover their programs. This
SVP at Nagra, speaking at IBC 2019, who set driving a new wave of disruption in content became necessary as TV was deregulated and
out the issues succinctly. “They have built their navigation and search, enabling metadata to be trans-frontier satellite broadcasting began. At
entire infrastructures and business processes automatically extracted. ML enables computer that time the delivery of this information was
around data. Yet when we look at operators, systems to learn based upon ongoing data that done mainly by snail mail and fax.
they have legacy systems that for some of is provided. After a while the learning becomes Programming and schedule data began to flow
them are 30 years old. All departments should more refined. AI, on the other hand is when freely from broadcasters to aggregators. In
a computer appears to learn, think and solve this way, TV metadata aggregators became the
problems on its own. Both generate metadata necessary cog in the wheel to get linear TV
but also require metadata to work. Beyond data to publishers of magazines and guides,
the AI/ML buzz, new metadata extraction because of all the multiple formats (paper,
technologies also include computer vision, faxes, spreadsheets, Word and text documents).
speech to text, automatic translation, etc, From paper to electronic, there has hardly
and all are on-course to bring transformative been any further innovation for almost 30
benefits to the TV business. years. Today, descriptive TV metadata is still
The need for accurate TV content metadata acquired in multiple formats, aggregated and
to drive program discovery has been normalized. It is then delivered to anyone who
increasing as the number of channels and needs to populate an EPG guide, including the
services has steadily grown. But audiences’ now/next Service Information feeds (DVB-SI
easy access to program information has and PSIP in the US) which channel providers
actually decreased as we have gained more TV were originally meant to generate on their own.
viewing options. As with the printed “grid”
formats that preceded them, digital Electronic AI and Machine Learning: New Forces in
Program Guides (EPGs) introduced in the mid TV Metadata Extraction
90s made it a bit harder to access program We are now in the midst of a second
information, because you had to click into the wave of disruption. A good example of this
listing to view the description. disruption can be seen at the annual workshop
Driving all these guides was the business- for developers working on metadata and
to-business exchange of TV metadata artificial intelligence, hosted by the European
consisting of time, title and a program Broadcasting Union (EBU), Europe’s
Jean-François Crémer, Director, Clients description. The first disruption in TV listings representative body for public service media.
Service & Operations, EMEA at TiVo, work- distribution took place in the early 90s with the The topic of media information management
ing with the incoming TV schedules from
European broadcasters at Infomedia S.A. in advent of “electronic delivery” services. These is part of the EBU’s strategic program on
Luxembourg, c. 1992. intermediaries, which came to be known as production. It aims to help members enhance
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